Stainless Steel Patek Philippe Reference 1518

Phillips In Association with Bacs & Russo announces its Geneva Watch Auction FOUR sale, which will take place on 12 & 13 November. This auction follows Phillips’s record-breaking Spring 2016 auction season, where it achieved nearly US $53 million in just two selling locations.

Phillips will offer the nec plus ultra watch of the 20th century – the mythical, stainless steel Patek Philippe reference 1518 – in its Geneva Watch Auction FOUR sale. A historical model produced from the 1940s to the 1950s, the reference 1518 was the breakthrough model that defined the state-of-the-art when it was introduced, as it was the first perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch ever manufactured in series by any brand.
For collectors, a lifelong dream is to own any example of this reference, of which a total of 281 were made – the vast majority in yellow gold. Far rarer are examples in pink gold, owned by a fortunate few who consider them a trophy watch in their collections.
For the most experienced collectors, a stainless steel 1518 is the ultimate summit to achieve. Only four are known to exist and three have at some point appeared at auction, with the last one selling over a decade ago.

The fourth example has never appeared at a public auction, and this is the watch to be offered in November. This watch, since its rediscovery in the 1990s, has always and exclusively been held in private collections. Estimate to be in excess of US $3.0 million.

Stainless steel is by far the rarest case material that Patek Philippe chose to use during the mid-20th century for their complicated watches, considering the extremely high value of their movements. For many, steel complicated Patek Philippe watches are the ultimate in distinction to collect and it comes as no surprise that world records continue to be achieved for such models.
The three other examples remain in some of the world’s most important private collections, making this particular reference 1518 in steel a unique opportunity for anyone in the world to discover and admire this legendary timepiece.